Outdoor Photography How To

Straddling a beautiful stretch of the Blue Ridge Mountains of northern Virginia, Shenandoah National Park is a hiker’s and photographer’s delight. Located only 70 miles from the nation’s capital, Shenandoah provides an oasis of nature surrounded by ever-encroaching civilization. Long and narrow, the park runs north/south along a ridge crest characterized by rolling hills and mountains, quiet hollows, rushing streams and waterfalls, and verdant forests. Running through the park is Skyline Drive, a 105-mile scenic roadway that meanders along the crest of the Blue Ridge. Along this roadway are 75 overlooks offering unparalleled views of the piedmont to the east and the valley and mountains to the west. The park is also host to a 101-mile segment of the venerable Appalachian Trail as it winds its way from Georgia to Maine.

Long exposure outdoor photography can be quite a challenge, because considerable experimentation is often required to get great results. In the tutorial below you’ll pick up some valuable tips that will significantly improve your odds of success.

If you’re new to long exposure photography and want to learn more, the below tutorial from photographer Serge Ramelli is a great place to start.

Have you ever marveled at landscape photos shot with long exposures and ND filters, and said to yourself “This is too complicated for me?” The quick video below will correct this misconception and explain how easy this is to accomplish using a few basic tips.

Alberto Ghizzi Panizza began his creative career as a painter and illustrator, but developed a passion for digital photography while visiting Egypt’s ancient ruins in 1997. He shoots everything from weddings to advertising, but his macro photographs of bug-eyed damselflies are what caught our attention.

Brett Chatwin is an amateur nature photographer based in Tasmania, and he captured these stunning images of a rare phenomenon known as the “Underwater Northern Lights.”

I know someone who calls these photographs my Alfred Hitchcock Project. You know, The Birds through a Rear Window. Nice touch, but the truth is the Master of Suspense was not in my thoughts when I began to shoot.